What Are The Sources Of Anti-Semitism?

WRITER'S NOTE: This post engendered a lot of
empassioned responses. Some of the responses were directed at the
question I posed; Others were directed at me.

I normally don't shy away from passionate responses: In fact, I
feel that part of my job is to write about topics people care
about enough to respond passionately to. And when I saw the
response to the British test question I described below--the same
question I posed here--I thought that this would be a question
our readers might want to respond to as well.

(I had actually been thinking of asking this question for a
while. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article about Goldman
Sachs that led to the arrival of some of the anti-Semitic
commenters who seem to be prevalent online. As I was deleting
their comments, I thought, as I had before, "Where on earth does
this stuff come from?")

As I said, the post was greeted with an empassioned response.
Lots of the feedback, believe it or not, was positive: I was
praised for starting a discussion on a sensitive topic. But lots
of the response was also negative--as in, "What kind of an
insensitive rockhead would ever ask a question like that?"

Some readers also felt that, if I was going to ask why some
people hate Jews, I should also ask why some people hate blacks,
Mormons, Christians, Muslims, and every other group that is
occasionally subjected to hate. And I certainly could have asked
those questions, too (If the commenters on my Goldman post and
the British religious-studies exam had focused on Muslims, I
might have asked that question first). One smart reader suggested
that I just summarize all those questions by asking "Why do
people hate?" And that was a reasonable question.

And then I got the feedback that clued me into the fact that I
had crossed a line I hadn't intended to cross. Some people I like
and respect told me they felt insulted by and uncomfortable with
the post.

That did it.

Whatever interesting responses came from the post, I now regret
writing it. (I'm okay making people feel uncomfortable about some
topics, but not this one.)

The question was immediately blasted as inappropriate and quickly
withdrawn.

But it's an interesting and important question.

Along with many other sites, this site is occasionally visited by
people whose mission in life appears to be to express hatred of
Jews. (We delete these comments as quickly as we can, but they're
always startling in their venom, meanness, and stupidity.)

And hatred of Jews has obviously been an ongoing theme worldwide
for centuries.

Hitler, for example, hated the Jews so much that he murdered 6
million people.

Why?

What is the source of this animosity? Why does it perpetuate
itself? Where did this prejudice come from?

I'm asking this question seriously, and I'm going to Bleacher any
comments that don't answer it seriously. As usual, I'm also going
to ban any anti-Semitic commenters. And I'm only going to keep
the comments open for 24 hours, because I know what will happen
once I stop checking back in and reading them.

In the meantime, I'm genuinely mystified and curious, and I look
forward to reading your responses.

Why do some people hate Jews?

Or, put in a more delicate fashion, what are the sources of the
anti-Semitism that seem to play such a central role in many
people's lives?

NOTE: The original photo in this post was of a
couple of jovial Orthodox Jews, one of whom was wearing a
traditional hat. Some readers found that needlessly provocative.
One suggested I replace it with a picture of Natalie Portman. So
I have.

NOTE 2: The original title of this post was "Why
Do People Hate Jews?" That made a lot of people angry. Folks seem
more comfortable with the current title, which, admittedly, is
less direct. So I changed it.

UPDATE: Now I see why Britain was startled when
this question appeared on that religious-studies exam.
Apparently, it's not a question you're supposed to ask.

UPDATE 2: Readers would also now like me to ask
the following questions:

Why do people hate ____ people [fill in any skin color]

Why do people hate ____ [fill in any religion]

"Why do people hate?"

Those are all good questions, too. Feel free to add your answers
to those below, too.

UPDATE 3: John Podhoretz has been kind enough to
send along a list of books on this topic, written by professor
Robert Wistrich. It's
available here. Please let me know which is the best, and
I'll read it and summarize it in a future post.

NOTE 4: Thank you. Lots of interesting
comments mixed in with some more predictable ones (along with a
lot of frustration with me for even posing the question). I'm
going to close the comments now, because I can't keep scanning
them. I'll read Mr. Podhoretz's book recommendation above and
come back with the scholarly answers.